Red Raiders finish road swing with draw at Iowa State

Jade King

AMES, Iowa – The Texas Tech soccer team wrapped its final road trip of the regular season with a 1-1 draw against Iowa State on Sunday at Cyclone Sports Complex.

The Red Raiders (8-6-3, 1-4-3) scored just before halftime, but the Cyclones (2-12-3, 0-6-2) found the back of the net with less than three minutes to go in regulation to force overtime. Both matches over the weekend for Tech resulted in 1-1 ties, as the Red Raiders battled to a 1-1 decision at No. 8 West Virginia on Thursday night.

"We played well again and clearly had the game where we wanted it with three minutes to go when they righted one across the face of the goal and unfortunately for us, got on the end of it to send the game to OT," head coach Tom Stone said. "I thought our bench was fantastic today. Kamy Birk, Gabbie Puente, Cassie Conarty, Natalie Schmutz and Jade King all came in and made a difference for us today.

"We let them back in the game and it cost us 2 points and at least one place in the standings. We haven't dropped points vs ISU since 2011, so it's a tough one but if we focus on that we waste time when we should be getting ready for the season finale vs. OU. There is a lot on the line in that game and it will be good to be home for that one."

Tech rattled off 17 shots against the Cyclones, with eight on goal. Sophomore midfielder Jordie Harr led the way on offense with five shots, including three on net. Junior midfielder Carly Wickenheiser posted all three of her shots on goal, with her first of the day resulting in Tech's go-ahead goal in the 45th minute.

Freshman goalkeeper Marissa Zucchetto logged her third consecutive start of the year and picked up five saves after facing 22 total shots from the Cyclones. Her day in goal raised her season total to 34 saves for the Red Raiders in 2017.

For the second-straight match, a goal was scored in the final minute of the first half, this time by the Red Raiders to propel Tech to a 1-0 lead at the break. Senior defender Cassie Conarty found the head of a leaping Jade King, who pushed the ball to the middle of the box for a dangerous scoring opportunity. From there, junior midfielder Jordan Duke sent a quick pass to Wickenheiser to bury in the net with less than 30 seconds remaining in the frame.

It was Wickenheiser's second tally of the year and first since a successfully converted penalty kick in double overtime against San Francisco on Aug. 20.

Just as the Red Raiders looked poised to leave Ames with a victory, the Cyclones forced overtime with a goal in the 87th minute. A pass from Shealyn Sullivan from outside the box missed a pair of Tech defenders and found a charging Hannah Cade, who directed the ball to the left end of the net for the equalizer.

Tech would add four corner kicks and three more shots over the final two overtime periods, including one on net by Duke, but were unable to find the game winner. Iowa State racked up six shots over the final 20 minutes, with the last three coming in the 108th minute of the contest.

"We knew we needed at least two points to most likely get to Kansas City," Stone said. "However, after earning the hard-fought draw vs the No. 8 team at WVU, we clearly expected to take 4 points from the weekend. We were three minutes away from that and jumping up in the standings, so it's disappointing to be unable to close that game out."

The Red Raiders return home to take on Oklahoma in the home finale on senior night on Friday, Oct. 27, at 6 p.m. at the John Walker Soccer Complex on FOX Sports Southwest Plus.

"We feel like while we have played well this season, we have just given too much away," Stone said. "So, a good result on Friday and a trip to the Big 12 Tournament gives us a chance to redeem ourselves against our Big 12 opponents."